Posts Tagged ‘ Mobile Research ’

The Final Nail in the Coffin of My Beloved Treo

Today’s announcement that HP is officially killing off webOS for mobile devices (or something like that, depending on which interview you read) is truly a sad day.  It’s not that this was unexpected – frankly I am surprised the trail of PalmOS has lasted this long – but it certainly has been a somber piece of news.

My first PalmOS device was, actually a 3Com Palm III (in fact, I still have it in my desk).  I used to carry it around alongside whatever TDMA phone I had from the old ATT Wireless Services group.  I loved having all of my notes in there, but especially relied heavily on the calendar synchronization with my computer.  Not only did it make me look cool and hip (or nerdy depending on your vantage point), but it solved a big issue for me, which was keeping track of all the appointments that I had as a small business owner.  These were also the days that I was traveling all over the world teaching technical classes, so being able to have it keep up with me in different time zones was so much more efficient than my Franklin Planner…

Of course, then I started paying attention to Handspring.  They had launched a few really cool devices, but in my mind were a bit clunky.

Until this:

The Handspring Treo 600.  This had to be the coolest device out there.  Full QWERTY keyboard, multi-tasking OS, graphical interface, touch screen that worked flawlessly (well, most of the time).  I even ditched AT&T Wireless Services and moved over to Sprint to get this phone, and paid full price for it in 2003.  Ironically, after waiting for it to arrive and finally getting it, I left it in a London Taxicab not a week later.  Thankfully, American Express came to my rescue and replaced it for free.

This phone started my love affair with smartphones.  Yes, it was 2003, and most other folks were content with their flip phones, or other candybar devices.  But this was truly revolutionary.  Wireless sync of email.  Ability to actually compose an email.  All of my calendar events synced up.  Web browsing was there, but yeah, it wasn’t that good.  And through the use of a little program from a company called June Fabrics, you could use the Treo as a tethered hotspot for your laptop.  It truly was the one device you would need.  And honestly, to this day, is still one of the best design formats that I have experienced.

Then, Handspring got sold back to the company from where it was born, and now the Treo line would be under Palm, Inc.  They then released, from left to right, the Treo 650, 700, 750/755, and 800/Centro.

Each of these could be had with the less competent Windows Mobile OS, but for each iteration I chose the trusted palmOS version.  I did try the WinMo version of the 700, but didn’t like it, and took advantage of the Sprint 14-day return policy.

But my purchasing of products from Palm did stop after the 755p.  Even with the faster processor, etc., the phone started to feel more bloated, and would lock up more often.  I eventually had to ditch the OS I fell in love with back in 2003, and in 2007, made the switch over to Windows Mobile.

I did go back and try the newest version of palmOS, now called webOS, on the new Sprint Palm Pre.  While it didn’t have the QWERTY keyboard on the face (which I still miss to this day), it was a slick device and was very fast.  And it was on a network where I had a relatively budget-friendly plan, so I gave it a test-drive.  At first I was enamored.  But then, there were a lot of shortcomings that exposed themselves.  Synchronization with our Exchange server didn’t quite work right.  There were some performance issues that would cause it to lock up on somewhat simple tasks.  I was beginning to sense another Treo 755p story emerging.  But I gave it another couple of days, but soon realized as much as I hated to admit it, my WinMo device was doing everything I needed it to do (thanks to some trusty hacks upgrades from the good people at xda-developers).

So the Pre went back, and thus ended my subsidizing of both Sprint and the company formerly known as Palm.

I don’t know what will end up happening.  If HP will be successful in putting webOS in cars and lightweight tablets.  I do know that the later iterations of webOS have proven to be multi-tasking workhorses that have few rivals.  But then again, it’s rarely about having the best product.  It’s more typically about having the best marketed product, and that’s where Palm struggled from the beginning.

Which is sad for me.  I will forever have a soft spot in my heart for my Treo 600 and its cousins that I also adopted.

Rest In Peace, palmOS/webOS…

2011
08/19
CATEGORY
Mobile
Technology
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Content Marketing Gaining on Traditional Advertising?

Andrew Spoeth of Marketo recently published an article that discussed how content marketing strategies are challenging traditional advertising models and tactics.

You can read the full contents of the article here.

It’s also interesting to note the number of content strategies that are available, and the ones that are the most popular.  Few quick stats:

– 79% use social media (excluding blogs)

– 78% post articles

– 11% use mobile content

Not surprisingly, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are the top three distribution mechanisms for content.  And on average, companies spend about 26% of their marketing budget on content strategy.

What is curious to me, however, is the small percentage of companies that use mobile content distribution strategies.  It’s interesting that there is so much activity going on for mobile marketing and mobile commerce, but mobile content distribution still seems to be lagging behind.  Perhaps it’s because there might not be content distribution methods that are mobile optimized yet.  Or, perhaps all those companies are so busy just trying to get their mobile apps and mobile web sites built that they aren’t thinking about content consumption on mobile.  While the form factor of mobile is clearly a consideration, any content strategy should look deeper into how to engage the mobile consumer in an effective way.

Content must be adapted so users can consume it on the move.  And various technologies – like speech processing – might be a good way to address that.  But regardless of the technology challenge, the strategic challenge is clear – engage your users with content where they are if you want to be successful.  And more than ever, where they are is on their mobile device.

2011
05/25
CATEGORY
Mobile
Technology
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CTIA – Thoughts from the home office

I have to admit that when I was first asked to attend CTIA on behalf of my company, the first thing that came to mind was “oh no, not another freaking trade show…I have better things to do with my time”.  Well, while I could certainly point to portions of the show that made me long to go swimsuit shopping with my daughter again (see previous post), the majority of the show was quite insightful.  Enjoyable, even.

I started sessions on Monday, one day before the official start, and participated in some great discussions on mobile marketing and promotion.  Panelists discussed whether mobile apps would still be relevant, if mobile advertising would finally get its groove both here and across the world, and how and when major brands should make their push into mobile.

But perhaps the best discussion of the first day was around the whole “ecosystem” process, and it if really works.  People went around and were asked to rate the performance of the ecosystem, with scores going anywhere from 5-8.  About half way in the discussion, the statement about control of the user came up and how different parts of the ecosystem weren’t willing to relinquish control, rendering the system less than efficient.  I challenged the panel on that, and asked a simple question:  ”Why?”  I mean, if the ecosystem is designed to make all these players work so much better as a team rather than individually, then why is this failing.  I know as an industry we are really struggling with this, and it’s perhaps because there really isn’t a true ecosystem, but instead, there is just a bunch of companies all vying for a part of the same end asset – the customer.  Doesn’t sound/seem very collaborative.

I sense there is a better way.  There has to be.

During the sessions, it was great to connect with folks from a lot of major brands and share with them where Nuance plays in the aforementioned, uh, “ecosystem”.  I really believe that speech will play an important role moving forward in mobile experiences, and it’s not just because I work for Nuance and run the Mobile Developer Program.

So that was Day 1.  And it was good.

Day 2 started off with a keynote from Dan Hesse.  I don’t remember much of what he said.  What I do remember was the moderated discussion between Dan Hesse, Dan Mead, and Ralph de la Vega, all moderated by Jim Cramer.  It was a great exchange, especially the zingers from Dan Hesse (he was definitely the scrappy third wheel in the middle, but he played it well).  It’s funny; I was a Sprint customer for years due to their cheap plans and decent network coverage.  I finally had to give up my service when my company wanted me to get on the corporate plan with VZW.  I’ve had no complaints with VZW, but also never really had any complaints with Sprint.

The rest of the day was filled with client meetings, and a few informative sessions.  More discussions on mobile marketing, app store strategies, and retail.  Also got to catch up with my good friend and old colleague Assaf Baciu, who now works for Upstream Systems in the UK.  They really had an amazing booth – felt very much like something out of some utopia movie.

Tuesday night, Nuance won the MobileTrax 2011 Mobility Award for Dragon Dictation, and I attended the MobileTrax award banquet and received the award on behalf of the company.  I also met up with some familiar faces and met some new ones.

On Day 3, my fearless leader Scott Taylor had an impromptu invitation to participate on a panel to discuss the future of device interaction.  Right in his sweet spot, he did an amazing job fielding where alternative input mechanisms (other than keyboards) will become necessary as apps become more complex.  The other panelists concurred, and I bet we will continue to see the benefits of collaboration in this area between speech, haptic, and other technology providers.

Day 4 was the WIPJam day.  This was amazing.  It was focused solely on the app developer community.  It was my first WIPJam, and I met so many interesting people, and learned a lot about what different people are dealing with trying to create, market, and profit from apps that they build.  Bottom line – it’s not a cakewalk, and not for the faint of heart.  It may seem easy to just go out there, build an app, and put it on the app store, but unless you just want to be app #300,001, you’ve gotta be a LOT more creative about what you’re actually selling.

So, that’s a very quick wrap on the week.  I have to say I was glad at the end that I had attended.  I’m hoping that many of the meetings I had will turn into business opportunities, but beyond that, I’m just really excited about how the mobile market continues to evolve.  I’m not sure you can ever get completely current on everything that is going on (well, unless you’re my friend Gary Clayton – he does a pretty good job), but it’s an exciting time for the industry, and I’m glad to be a part of it.

Final, shameless plug:  if you’re interested in getting speech technology integrated into your mobile applications, visit my program’s site at http://dragonmobile.nuancemobiledeveloper.com.

2011
03/27
CATEGORY
Mobile
Technology
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